ECO-SOIL Innovative process for the on-site decontamination of soils

There exists today over the entire world many sites with heavy ground contaminations by harmful substances, such as chlorinated hydrocarbons, heavy metals, 
PCB, etc. Today, the method generally used to address land pollutants is to excavate and remove the polluted land, which is then treated or transported to a landfill 
at another location. As a rule, these are costly methods that result in a heavy environmental load, due to long transport distances, among other factors. Furthermore, 
in many cases the excavation is not an option due to financial reasons. The development of new technologies for the removal of poisons from the soil has thus become 
apriority. The here proposed soil remediation technology is focussing on local or point source contaminations originating from clearly defined sources 
and is called the Ecosoil@ Method. The Ecosoil@ Method is an innovative, simple and economical technology for the on-site, in-situ removal of all kinds of hazardous 
substances, occurring as contaminants in soils as the result of local point source and/or diffuse contamination by adsorption mechanisms. The method is also 
appropriated for preventive applications resultant from local and/or diffuse contamination, from the soil through adsorption mechanisms, and also appropriated 
for preventive application. The ECOSOIL@ method consists on the insertion of several chords connecting a multitude of sockets inside the same number of parallel 
horizontal holes drilled in the ground. The sockets serve as holders for appropriated biosorbents that absorb the contaminant material. After a period of 
time sufficient to attain the desired decontamination effect, the system is removed and the sorbent regenerated for further application The ECOSOIL project 
intends to develop this patented system for its practical and commercial application in different types of contaminated soils, especially targeting cases 
were the ground treatment has to take place under existing buildings and infrastructure, which can not be removed (petrol stations, airports, buildings etc.). 
The present project will promote the application of this new method for a wide range of contaminated soils by adapting it to different types of ground and by testing 
the performance of different sorbent materials in order to establish selective systems for each kind of contaminant.